New Zealand

For
the Labour Party the 2011 general election defeat was the worst since
1928. The main factor for this was the historic low turnout as many
workers stayed at home and were not enthused enough by the right-wing
leadership of the Labour party to go out and vote. The turn out was
down from (what was considered then a low turnout) 79.46% at the
2008 general election to 73.83%. This was the lowest turnout since
1878!

The grounding of the 236m MV Rena on the Astrolabe Reef in the Bay of Plenty exposes the lack of maritime regulation and unpreparedness of the government to respond to such a disaster. This is New Zealand's worst environmental disaster with oil washing up on once pristine beaches destroying both wildlife and important ecosystems.

From 9th September to 23rd October, 2011, New Zealand will be the host to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. By all accounts it is shaping up to be a non-event in New Zealand with less than a third of those polled taking an active interest in the event despite rugby being the national sport of New Zealand. This is a far cry from the days when the nation would grind to a halt for international rugby matches involving the All Blacks. This lack of interest in the Rugby World Cup is not only due to the inability of thousands of working class New Zealanders to attend rugby matches but the fundamental change in attitude towards the national game that resulted from the 1981 Springbok Tour.

Kiwirail bosses decision to make 70 workers redundant from a workforce
of 172 at its Dunedin and Lower Hutt workshops brings into question the
state owned enterprise (SOE) model for nationlised industries that
allows the market to dictate it business decisions.